My excavations that re-discovered the cellar in the summer of 2005 as documented here on the Parlington History site are being consigned to history AGAIN! Sadly, the location is being filled with cheap rubble and demolition waste, not even clean stone is being used. The stairway to the cellar built almost certainly in the 1730’s at the behest of Sir Edward Gascoigne, when he constructed the central block that would endure as Parlington’s main elevation for over 250 years, is being filled by Messrs Moron & Co! That’s how annoyed I am. I don’t care who owns the place, playing fast and loose with our history and heritage is frankly truly barbaric. Here is the evidence:
The cellar was left safe and intact, covered by a timber framework, and the area at the top of the stairs [landing] was packed with stone and slate from the earlier excavations, so that it was still possible to enter the old eighteenth century cellar, if only to marvel at the craftsmanship of those long dead masons. Well now it has been consigned to history again! The materials used to cover the artefact are of no particular benefit, they are comprised of demolition material from a more recent construction, no doubt with lots of cement blocks and concrete, along with other detritus. If it had to be filled then for purposes of future investigation they should have used a limestone fill, easy to re-dig and unlikely to damage any of the existing structures. £250.00 would have provided enough stone to fill the space. Very soon it will be grassed over and everyone will forget about it, how sad! I can see Sir Edward and his son Sir Thomas, looking forlorn at their once fine mansion house, sitting in the glade along the gentle valley which wends its way to aberford.